Happy Holidays in Malaysia

Thailand， Singapore， Indonesia;

Curry， bakuteh， Indonesian basil;

Sabah， Phatthaya， the burning sun;

Casaba， beer hops， picturesque scenes......

The melody and lyrics of the Chinese song Curry Curry kicked off my holiday in Malaysia earlier this year. The looped playback of the track stirred excitement in my heart.

After a six-hour flight， I arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in the Malaysian capital. As I made my way out of the cabin， I could not help closing my eyes and taking a deep breath of the unique flavor of the sea in the air. My friend was waiting for me at the airport. His familiar smile was what greeted me as I officially began my journey.

Delicious Food

As we drove from KLIA to the city center， the scenery on both sides of the road changed with the undulating terrain， but it always maintained a verdant liveliness. Large palm trees sketched the contours of the city. Green was the main hue Malaysia left in my mind.

Before checking into my hotel， my friend drove me to a well-known local restaurant to try rice noodle soup， a well-known local dish， for breakfast. The restaurant itself was a roadside food stall of the type commonly found across Southeast Asia， hidden behind the colorful signboards of neighboring stores. Without a local guide， it’s very difficult for ordinary tourists to find it. As we arrived at around 10:00 in the morning， the breakfast rush had not yet concluded.

We were seated for a short while before the rice noodle soup was served. The rice noodles came in a creamy white soup with slices of meat and fresh green vegetables， making it very attractive. If you like spicy food， you can add some home-made chili sauce to the creamy soup. The contrast of red and green in the white soup is a joy to one’s taste buds.

My first day in Malaysia began with this bowl of hot rice noodle soup.

Malaysia is a country of cultural diversity， which is also reflected in its food. Mediterranean-flavor Portuguese cuisine， localized Eurasian cuisine， spicy Indian cuisine， Chinese Cantonese， Hakka and Teochew dishes and dessert， you name it. Whatever you like to eat， you can find it in Malaysia. When you visit Malaysia， you can sample delicious foods from all over the world.

Beautiful Scenery

Apart from delicious food， Kuala Lumpur is also well-known for its diverse architecture. The city itself is of a manageable size and scenic spots are not far from one another. We traveled by double-decker buses to see the sights.

The Petronas Twin Towers have a well-deserved reputation as the city’s landmark buildings. The twin towers were the world’s tallest buildings for a time， and despite now being dwarfed by the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai， the unique twin towers remain the city’s symbol. Wherever you go in Kuala Lumpur， you’re never very far away from the towers. They can serve as a guide to help one determine his location， as the towers are almost always visible. They are also spectacularly illuminated at night.

There are a large number of mosques in Malaysia. The National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur’s city center is the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia. The colossal building is magnificent and considered an outstanding representative of Islamic architecture. The Kuala Lumpur City Gallery， Railway Station and Independence Square are all located in the same area.

Traveling on the upper deck of a double-decker provides tourists with a brand-new angle of view for more details of the city. You can see the coexistence of modern high-rise buildings with the historical Chinatown and India Town. You can see the coexistence of a group of typical Muslim domes with Roman arch columns and Chinese carved beams and painted rafters. The streets are crowded with people of varying ethnicities dressed in varying clothing， all speaking different languages.

Ecological Paradise

When traveling in Malaysia， seeing the ocean is a must. After a two-hour flight from KLIA， we left the bustling city and reached the ecological paradise of Kota Kinabalu， the capital of Sabah state.

Our hotel was located in a quiet corner of a remote beach. As I opened the door to my room， I came face to face with a giant reptile on the floor — a 1.5-meter-long lizard heading across my room to reach the pond on the other side. I was shocked， but the lizard was not. For him it was simply his daily routine.

The beautiful natural environment of the hotel was exactly what I expected. The ecological environment nearby， meanwhile， far exceeded my expectations. I was quite surprised and pleased to see various exotic tropical plants on the ground， birds in the air， monkeys in the trees， frogs in the ponds， squirrels， hairy-faced porcupines and a wide range of other animals.

And there was a lot more in the sea. In the shallow waters near the beach I found a lively world. Colorful clown fish， slender swordfish and finger-size whitebait clusters were at ease in their territorial waters as our boat wandered above them.

As we made our way back to the beach， the western sky was red with the setting sun. The evening on the beach began with holiday-makers either swimming， walking or having dinner by candlelight — a picturesque scene that remains vivid in my mind.